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Inspector General
In the , Office of Inspector General (OIG) is a generic term for the oversight division of a or state agency aimed at preventing inefficient or unlawful operations within their parent agency. Such offices are attached to many , , as well as state and local governments. Each office includes an (or I.G.) and employees charged with identifying, ing, and investigating fraud, waste, abuse, embezzlement and mismanagement of any kind within the executive department. History In the United States, other than the military departments, the first Office of (OIG) was established by act of Congress in 1976 under the , to fight waste, fraud and abuse in Medicare, Medicaid, and more than 100 other HHS programs. With approximately 1,600 employees, the OIG performs audits, investigations, and evaluations, to establish policy recommendations for decision-makers and the public. Description Federal offices of inspectors general logo.}} There are 73 federal offices of inspectors general, a significant increase since the statutory creation of the initial 12 offices by the . The offices employ s (criminal investigators, often armed) and auditors. In addition, federal offices of inspectors general employ forensic auditors, or "audigators," evaluators, inspectors, administrative investigators, and a variety of other specialists. Their activities include the detection and prevention of fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement of the government programs and operations within their parent organizations. Office investigations may be internal, targeting government employees, or external, targeting grant recipients, contractors, or recipients of the various loans and subsidies offered through the thousands of federal domestic and foreign assistance programs. The Inspector General Reform Act of 2008 (IGRA) amended the 1978 act by increasing pay and various powers and creating the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency (CIGIE). Some inspectors general, the heads of the offices, are appointed by the president and confirmed by the senate. For example, both the inspector general of the and the inspector general of the are presidentially appointed. The remaining inspectors general are designated by their respective agency heads, such as the U.S. Postal Service inspector general. Presidentially appointed IGs can only be removed, or terminated, from their positions by the President of the United States, whereas designated inspectors general can be terminated by the agency head. However, in both cases Congress must be notified of the termination, removal, or reassignment. While the IG Act of 1978 requires that inspectors general be selected based upon their qualifications and not political affiliation, presidentially appointed inspectors general are considered political appointees and are often selected, if only in part and in addition to their qualifications, because of their political relationships and party affiliation. An example of the role political affiliation plays in the selection of an inspector general, and the resulting pitfalls, can be seen in the 2001 appointment (and resignation under fire) of (daughter of former , ) to the post of inspector general for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. While all of the federal offices of inspector generals operate separately from one another, they share information and some coordination through the . As of 2010, the CIGIE comprised 68 offices. In addition to their inspector general members, CIGIE includes non-inspector general representatives from the federal executive branch, such as executives from the , the , the , the , and the . CIGIE also provides specialized training to the inspector general community. Further evidence of coordination between federal offices of inspector generals can be seen by the public through the offices' shared website, and the use of shared training facilities and resources, such as the Inspector General Criminal Investigator Academy (IGCIA), and their Inspector General Community Auditor Training Team (IGCATS), which are hosted by the . Evidence of the offices' return on investment to taxpayers can be seen through their semi-annual reports to Congress, most of which are available on each office's website. Since the enactment of the , resulting in the amendment of the IG Act of 1978, Section 6e, most presidentially appointed IG special agents have had full law enforcement authority to carry firearms, make arrests, and execute s. Prior to this time, most presidentially appointed IG and some designated IG special agents had the equivalent law enforcement authorities as a result of other statutes or annually required deputation by the . The 2002 amendment to the IG Act of 1978 made most deputation of presidentially appointed IG special agents unnecessary. Some designated IG special agents, however, still have full law enforcement authority today by virtue of this continued deputation. Some OIGs employ no criminal investigators and rely solely on administrative investigators, auditors, and inspectors. U.S. offices of inspector general Presidentially appointed inspectors general * (AID-OIG) * (USDA-OIG) * (CIA-OIG) * (DOC-OIG) * (CNCS-OIG) * (DOD-OIG) * (ED-OIG) * (DOE-OIG) * (EPA-OIG) * (EIB-OIG) * (FDIC-OIG) * (GSA-OIG) * (HHS-OIG) * (DHS-OIG) * (HUD-OIG) * (DOI-OIG) * (DOJ-OIG) * (DOL-OIG) * (NASA-OIG) * (NRC-OIG) * (OPM-OIG) * (RRB-OIG) * (SBA-OIG) * (SSA-OIG) * – (DOS-OIG) * (TVA-OIG) * (DOT-OIG) * (Treasury OIG) * (TIGTA) of the * (VA-OIG) Designated federal entity inspectors general * National Railroad Passenger Corporation ( ) * (ARC-OIG) * (CFTC-OIG) * (CPSC-OIG) * (CPD-OIG) * * (EAC-OIG) * (EEOC-OIG) * (FCA-OIG) * (FCC-OIG) * (FEC-OIG) * (FHFB-OIG) * (FLRA-OIG) * (FMC-OIG) * (FRB-OIG) * (FTC-OIG) * (USITC-OIG) * (LSC-OIG) * * (NCUA-OIG) * (NEA-OIG) * (NEH-OIG) * (NLRB-OIG) * (NSF-OIG) * * (PBGC-OIG) * (formerly Postal Rate Commission) (PRC-OIG) * (USPS-OIG) * (SEC-OIG) * (SI OIG) Special inspectors general * (SIGAR) – appointed by the president * Special inspector general for the ( ) – appointed by the president with Senate confirmation Legislative agency inspectors general * (AOC-OIG) * (USCP-OIG) * (GAO-OIG) * (GPO-OIG) * (LOC-OIG) Other federal inspectors general * , Office of (ODNI-OIG) U.S. military Within the , the position of inspector general is normally part of the personal staff serving a general or flag officer in a command position. The inspector general's office functions in two ways. To a certain degree they are for their branch of service. However, their primary function is to ensure the combat readiness of subordinate units in their command. An armed services inspector general also investigate noncriminal allegations and some specific criminal allegations, to include determining if the matter should be referred for criminal investigation by the service's criminal investigative agency. The Air Force Inspector General Complaints Program was established to address the concerns of Air Force active duty, reserve, and Guard members, civilian employees, family members, and retirees, as well as the interest of the Air Force. One of the first responsibilities of the Air Force inspector general is to operate a credible complaints program that investigates personnel complaints: Fraud, Waste, and Abuse (FWA) allegations; congressional inquiries; and issues involving the Air Force mission. Personnel complaints and FWA disclosures to the IG help commanders correct problems that affect the productivity, mission accomplishment, and morale of assigned personnel, which are areas of high concern to Air Force leaders at all levels. See: * , established by the U.S. Air Force in 1948. * , dating back to 1777. * , established by the U.S. Navy in 1942. * established 1982. Stark Law and Anti-Kickback Statute Enforcement The OIG develops and distributes resources to assist the health care industry in its efforts to comply with the Nation's fraud and abuse laws and to educate the public about fraudulent schemes so they can protect themselves and report suspicious activities. In recent years, the OIG has made an effort to target hospitals and healthcare systems for and violations pertaining to the management of physician compensation arrangements. In 2015, a fraud alert was issued to publicize the OIG's intent to further regulate such non-compliance. In light of such efforts and consequent record-breaking settlements, healthcare experts have begun to call for the transition from paper based physician time logging and to automated solutions. Criticism Inspectors General have also been criticized for being, rather than guardians of whistleblowers, instead, ineffective, inactive, or at worst, instruments by which whistleblowers are persecuted. One example is from the OIG. In a 2011 article by Matt Taibbi, SEC whistleblowers said that complaining to the SEC OIG was "well-known to be a career-killer." Another example is from whistleblower 's book Canary in the Coalmine, in which she describes her experience complaining to the OIG; instead of helping her, the IG office helped the DOJ get her fired and restricted from practicing as a lawyer. Another example is from the case, in which several complainants to the OIG over NSA's were later raided by the FBI and some threatened with criminal prosecution. References Category:Civilization